3 squats today. Who will be first? Egg 3 from Lily new pics

[sharol]

If she did, I didn't hear it. When I was out to the coop about a half hour before the egg was laid, she was scratching around in the nest boxes. I didn't want to distract her, and the weather is horrendous today, so i came back inside and puttered around. When I checked back the egg was there. It hadn't been long, it was still damp and warm.

I have 5 others squatting (maybe all 6) so it shouldn't be too long. Scout is my only white egg layer, so I'm pretty sure it is hers (unless my EE decides to lay white eggs).

 

[enzolove]

I'm new to all this - I have 4 pullets, I'm guessing eggs may come around February. What is squatting? And what is an egg song?? Also, since they're not going to lay anytime soon, should I put up some sort of barrier to the nest boxes for now, so they don't just hang out in there?

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Woohoo!

None of my pullets every did the eggs song. My Dark Cornish hen Autumn and Beepbeeb did, but nobody else did.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

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Squatting is when the hen "Squatts" for the rooster. When your pullet starts doing that for you it means she is very close to laying. Also their comb and wattles will get red and big. The egg song is what some hens do after they lay their egg.

 

[sharol]

When my girls were smaller, they all slept in the nest boxes at night. sometimes I would find 5 of them piled in one nest box when I would check on them at bedtime. It was hot, so I would drag some of them out and divide them out through the 3 boxes. Finally one of them began using the roost.

then I moved them to a new coop with new everything. They adapted beautifully. The all prefer sleeping on the roosts.

I had decided that I would just clean out the nest boxes early if they wanted to sleep there. Some of that will depend on where you live. If it is cold and they want to sleep together in an enclosed space for warmth, why not? I figure with only 7 of them, they can sleep where they wish. I just checked in on them tonight. The heat lamp (plugged into a thermo cube) came on about 5 (on at 20 degrees, off at 30 degrees) and will be on most of the night, so they are all hanging out on the roost near the heat lamp. I think the wind is keeping them awake though. It is absolutely roaring out there.

Squatting is when a pullet "assumes the postion" for the rooster to breed her. She lowers her body and spreads out her wings a little. Trust me, you will recognize it when you see it. 5 of mine do it when I approach them sort of hunched over (under the netting over their run) or reach down to pet or scratch them. They think I'm the rooster. If you scratch them just above the tail feathers on their backs, sometimes they stand up and fluff their feathers. It's really cute. Everyone here (well mostly) says that is a sign that eggs are on the way in a couple of weeks. I saw the first squat at the beginning of the month (about, well, 11 days ago).

The egg song is the bawking that chickens do as they lay eggs. If you do a search for egg song, there are better descriptions out there. gryeyes sent me a recording of the egg song last summer, and I listen to it when I want a smile. I suspect she would be glad to message it to you, too.

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[gryeyes]

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yup. All I need ia a PM with your e-mail address, and I'll send The Egg Song, as performed by my Rebecca. I've changed phones, recently, so it may take a couple days to locate the file, though.

Anybody who requests it via PM will get it, eventually. I love sharing Rebecca's performance - it's three minutes long!

 

[sharol]

Gryeyes, If you have trouble locating it, I can either send it back to you or forward it. That one is a keeper.

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yup. All I need ia a PM with your e-mail address, and I'll send The Egg Song, as performed by my Rebecca. I've changed phones, recently, so it may take a couple days to locate the file, though.

Anybody who requests it via PM will get it, eventually. I love sharing Rebecca's performance - it's three minutes long!

 

[enzolove]

Thanks everyone for explaining some of the basics to me. Six months ago I had no idea that I'd now be raising hens, it never occurred to me. The idea crossed my mind after attending a summer bbq and discovering a hidden coop in the back corner of the yard, but it was quickly forgotten. Then a couple of months ago my husband and I wandered into a feed store in Lemon Grove, really just wandered in - we were trying to kill time between my son's matches and it was a small town with not much to see or do. And there was a box of chicks peep-peep-peeping . . . Now here I am chatting on the chicken forum!

 

[bibkel]

I thought it would be Vic.
I thought the white ones lay white eggs but everyone else lay colored, more often browns.

I was sooo excited when we got our first egg, everyone thought I was a nut! Grabbing camera and clicking away....leave it there, now pick it up, now put it in the carton....now crack it, now scramble it.....LOL> love taking pics!

 

[sharol]

Egg color is a breed characteristic. If a chicken has white ears, usually she will lay white eggs (see the picture). Red ears means colored eggs. Actually egg shells are only two colors -- white and blue. The brown and green are formed when the chicken "paints" on a layer of brown. If you get a brown egg, look at the inside and peel off the little membrane on the inside of the egg -- it will be white on the inside. Green eggs are blue on the inside. the things you learn from this list.

Vic will lay brown eggs. Soon, I hope.

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